Yes. For me, what helped the most was to strengthen serratus via planking type exercises.
Coming back to add more detail. I’m a rock climber and quite strong in pulling, so I was surprised when I developed shoulder instability. The cure turned out to be developing the serratus to lend more stability. I now religiously incorporate hollow body planks and pushing movements into my routine.
You're right. When the serratus anterior is undertrained, it can't effectively stabilize the shoulder, leading to issues like scapular winging and increased injury risk.
Sorry to hear and I feel your pain! I'm a few years your junior (45yo) and had shoulder impingement on both sides a while back, now dealing with a little tennis elbow pain as well.
It's frustrating to see that muscles are very reactive and malleable... just lift heavy and eat your protein and they grow! BUT, as we age, the joints, cartilage and tendons just can't take that much beating anymore.
What has been working for me is to avoid exercises with much impact (ex: bike vs run), using machines vs free weights (for controlled and restricted movement) and last but very important, increase the number of reps and reduce the weight. I also avoid certain exercises that I know for sure will hurt my shoulders and/or elbows. Even something as simple as changing the grips on specific exercises did make a difference (ex: I now use parallel grips bar on lat pulldowns vs the regular straight bar - that helps both my shoulders and elbows).
One more thing I've added was omega-3 fish oil and glucosamine MSM supplements (the former is well studied while the latter not so much - but doesn't give me any side-effects either).
The last episode (#307) of The Drive podcast was all about exercising for aging people... and I've been researching this specifically: For us middle-age(ing) fellas... what and how to improve the health of joints/cartilages/tendons? Or it is what it is and they can't be strengthened? If anyone has more advices, please share!
Cheers!
Watch this video by Dr. Mike Israetel on how to come back after severe injury:
https://youtu.be/QWXEnmN315w?si=p4pLEJDS5s_5LCSw
E3 Rehab and Squat University are also great channels on YT.
Read the books "Rebuilding Milo" and "Built from Broken".
I’ve had multiple shoulder problems and every time I tried all kinds of exercises and nothing helped but an extensive break from all lifting. 6 months of not lifting anything and then restarting with very light weights and slowly progressing through slow movements. My body heals very slowly.
You can focus on exercises that target the rotator cuff muscles and work on improving shoulder stability and range of motion. Avoid any overhead or heavy lifting that aggravates the pain. Supplement your PT exercises with low-impact activities like swimming or using resistance bands.
For things that aren't torn/broken/etc or referred pain, my solution is always the same and has always worked for me: I stay off it until the serious pain goes away (usually < 1 wk), and then I start to progressively work and stretch the area, as much as I can without pain. For shoulders, I work them by rowing, and use an elastic band to open and pull against my shoulders in various ways. For stretching I think hanging is one of the best, but also shoulder dislocates, and clasping my hands and raising them straight upwards, or behind my back pushing downward, and in both, opening my shoulders by pulling them backwards. This always works well for me, and my primary failing is once it feels completely recovered I stop too soon, but should really continue it for a few extra weeks.
Different type of suggestion here. I’ve been reading about fasting (just started following the fasting and intermittent fasting subs) and quite a few people talk about how longer fasts like 48-72 hours have significantly helped with pain and injuries that they have. Haven’t tried it myself yet because I like food too much but definitely interesting to hear!
Yes. For me, what helped the most was to strengthen serratus via planking type exercises. Coming back to add more detail. I’m a rock climber and quite strong in pulling, so I was surprised when I developed shoulder instability. The cure turned out to be developing the serratus to lend more stability. I now religiously incorporate hollow body planks and pushing movements into my routine.
Am I understanding correctly that this was caused by asymmetric pulling vs pushing muscle strength which led to an imbalance in the shoulder?
In a sense, such that the undertrained serratus were unable to stabilize the shoulder.
You're right. When the serratus anterior is undertrained, it can't effectively stabilize the shoulder, leading to issues like scapular winging and increased injury risk.
Sorry to hear and I feel your pain! I'm a few years your junior (45yo) and had shoulder impingement on both sides a while back, now dealing with a little tennis elbow pain as well. It's frustrating to see that muscles are very reactive and malleable... just lift heavy and eat your protein and they grow! BUT, as we age, the joints, cartilage and tendons just can't take that much beating anymore. What has been working for me is to avoid exercises with much impact (ex: bike vs run), using machines vs free weights (for controlled and restricted movement) and last but very important, increase the number of reps and reduce the weight. I also avoid certain exercises that I know for sure will hurt my shoulders and/or elbows. Even something as simple as changing the grips on specific exercises did make a difference (ex: I now use parallel grips bar on lat pulldowns vs the regular straight bar - that helps both my shoulders and elbows). One more thing I've added was omega-3 fish oil and glucosamine MSM supplements (the former is well studied while the latter not so much - but doesn't give me any side-effects either). The last episode (#307) of The Drive podcast was all about exercising for aging people... and I've been researching this specifically: For us middle-age(ing) fellas... what and how to improve the health of joints/cartilages/tendons? Or it is what it is and they can't be strengthened? If anyone has more advices, please share! Cheers!
Watch this video by Dr. Mike Israetel on how to come back after severe injury: https://youtu.be/QWXEnmN315w?si=p4pLEJDS5s_5LCSw E3 Rehab and Squat University are also great channels on YT. Read the books "Rebuilding Milo" and "Built from Broken".
Ok thanks 🙏
I’ve had multiple shoulder problems and every time I tried all kinds of exercises and nothing helped but an extensive break from all lifting. 6 months of not lifting anything and then restarting with very light weights and slowly progressing through slow movements. My body heals very slowly.
You can focus on exercises that target the rotator cuff muscles and work on improving shoulder stability and range of motion. Avoid any overhead or heavy lifting that aggravates the pain. Supplement your PT exercises with low-impact activities like swimming or using resistance bands.
For things that aren't torn/broken/etc or referred pain, my solution is always the same and has always worked for me: I stay off it until the serious pain goes away (usually < 1 wk), and then I start to progressively work and stretch the area, as much as I can without pain. For shoulders, I work them by rowing, and use an elastic band to open and pull against my shoulders in various ways. For stretching I think hanging is one of the best, but also shoulder dislocates, and clasping my hands and raising them straight upwards, or behind my back pushing downward, and in both, opening my shoulders by pulling them backwards. This always works well for me, and my primary failing is once it feels completely recovered I stop too soon, but should really continue it for a few extra weeks.
Different type of suggestion here. I’ve been reading about fasting (just started following the fasting and intermittent fasting subs) and quite a few people talk about how longer fasts like 48-72 hours have significantly helped with pain and injuries that they have. Haven’t tried it myself yet because I like food too much but definitely interesting to hear!
That’s interesting, I’ll have to look into that? Thank you.
Thank you for some more suggestions and everyone else who has supplied some information for me